I am a self-diagnosed basketball junkie. I currently coach elite development boys in Canada and love every second of it. It is challenging, invigorating, nerve-wracking, time consuming and extremely rewarding.

Sunday, 29 January 2017

Lil Beast is Growing Since November of last year I have been working with a group of elementary kids on Monday nights to teach them basketball. It is a beginners group and we are starting to grow. I have added a second session for smaller kids (Grade 1 to 3) so if you know of anyone in Richmond Hill that wants to learn basketball can you please let them know about this program? Here are some of the details if you require further information on the price and a registration form my details are below.

Date Range: Monday Nights (Starting Feb. 6th until April 10)Location: Our Lady of Annunciation (30 Bayswater Avenue, Richmond Hill) Grade 1 - 3 6:00 to 7:30pm Grade 4 - 6 7:30 to 9:00pm Marla Gladstone marladgladstone@gmail.com416 648 8488This is an article written by James Clear. I couldn't have said it any better so I decided to just sent this out. Happy reading!

The Myth and Magic of Deliberate Practice

Joe DiMaggio was one of the greatest hitters in baseball history. A three-time winner of the Most Valuable Player award, DiMaggio was selected to the Major League All-Star team in each of his thirteen seasons. He is best known for his remarkable hitting streak during the 1941 season when he recorded a hit in fifty-six consecutive games—a record that still stands more than seventy-five years later.

I recently heard a little-known story about how DiMaggio acquired his exceptional ability.

Joe DiMaggio in 1939. Published by Bowman Gum for Play Ball Cards.

As the story goes, a journalist was interviewing DiMaggio at his home and asked him what it felt like to be such a “natural hitter.” Without saying a word, he dragged the reporter downstairs. In the shadows of the basement, DiMaggio picked up a bat and began to repeat a series of practice swings. Before each swing, he would call out a particular pitch such as “fastball, low and away” or “slider, inside” and adjust his approach accordingly.

Once he finished the routine, DiMaggio set the bat down, picked up a piece of chalk, and scratched a tally mark on the wall. Then he flicked on the lights to reveal thousands of tally marks covering the basement walls. Supposedly, DiMaggio then looked at the journalist and said, “Don’t you ever tell me that I’m a natural hitter again.” [1]

We love stories like this—stories that highlight how remarkable success is the product of effort and perseverance. In recent years, the study of hard work has developed into a scientific pursuit. Experts have begun to refer to focused and effortful training as “deliberate practice” and it is widely considered to be the recipe for success.

There is no doubt that deliberate practice can be the recipe for success, but only under certain conditions. If we are serious about maximizing our potential, then we need to know when deliberate practice makes the difference between success and failure and when it doesn’t. Before we can capture the power of deliberate practice, we need to understand its limitations.

The Vision of Greatness

In the early 1990s, a man named Louis Rosenbaum began analyzing the eyesight of Major League baseball players. He soon found out that professional baseball players were nothing like the normal person when it came to vision.

According to Rosenbaum’s research, the average eyesight of a Major League position player is 20/11. In other words, the typical professional baseball player can read letters from twenty feet away that a normal person can only read from eleven feet away. Ted Williams, who is widely regarded as the greatest hitter in the baseball history, reportedly had 20/10 vision when he was tested by the military during WWII. The anatomical limit for human vision is 20/8.

Most of Rosenbaum’s research was conducted on the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team. According to him, “Half of the guys on the Dodgers’ Major League roster were 20/10 uncorrected.” [2]

Eyesight and visual acuity results of professional baseball players from 1993 to 1995. The data above includes both minor league and major league players. (Source: American Journal of Ophthalmology. November 1996.)

In his excellent book, The Sports Gene, author David Epstein explains that this visual trend holds true at each level of the sport. On average, Major League players have better vision than minor league players who have better vision than college players who have better vision than the general population. [3]

If you want to play professional baseball, it helps to practice like DiMaggio, but you also need eyesight like an eagle. In highly competitive fields, deliberate practice is often necessary, but not sufficient for success.

The Deliberate Practice Myth

The myth of deliberate practice is that you can fashion yourself into anything with enough work and effort. While human beings do possess a remarkable ability to develop their skills, there are limits to how far any individual can go. Your genes set a boundary around what is possible.

In recent decades, behavioral geneticists have discovered that our genes impact nearly every human trait. We are not merely talking about physical characteristics like height and eyesight, but mental abilities as well. Your genes impact everything from your short-term memory abilities to your mental processing speed to your willingness to practice.

One of my favorite examples is tennis great Steffi Graf. When she was tested against other elite tennis players as a teenager, she not only scored the highest on physical attributes like lung capacity and motor skills, but also on competitive desire. She was that once-in-a-generation talent who was both the most-gifted and the most-driven person on the court. [4]

During a conversation I had with Robert Plomin, one of the top behavioral geneticists in the world, he said, “It is now at the point where we have stopped testing to see if traits have a genetic component because we literally can’t find a single one that isn’t influenced by our genes.”

How big is the influence of genes on performance? It’s hard to say. Some researchers have estimated that our genes account for between 25 percent to 35 percent of our differences in performance. Obviously, that number can vary wildly depending on the field you’re studying.

So where does this leave us?

Well, while genetics influence performance, they do not determine performance. Do not confuse destiny with opportunity. Genes provide opportunity. They do not determine our destiny. It’s similar to a game of cards. You have a better opportunity if you are dealt a better hand, but you also need to play the hand well to win.

Layer Your Skills

How do we play our hand well? How do we maximize our genetic potential in life—whatever that might be? One strategy is to “layer your skills” on top of one another.

Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, explains the strategy perfectly. He writes, “Everyone has at least a few areas in which they could be in the top 25% with some effort. In my case, I can draw better than most people, but I’m hardly an artist. And I’m not any funnier than the average standup comedian who never makes it big, but I’m funnier than most people. The magic is that few people can draw well and write jokes. It’s the combination of the two that makes what I do so rare. And when you add in my business background, suddenly I had a topic that few cartoonists could hope to understand without living it.” [5]

If you can’t win by being better, then win by being different. By combining your skills, you reduce the level of competition, which makes it much easier to stand out regardless of your natural abilities.

The Magic of Deliberate Practice

Sun Tzu, the legendary military strategist who wrote The Art of War, believed in only fighting battles where the odds were in his favor. He wrote, “In war, the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won.”

Similarly, we should seek to fight battles where the genetic odds are in our favor. It is impossible to try everything in life. Each of us could become any one of a billion different things. Thus, if you aspire to maximize your success, then you should train hard and practice deliberately in areas where the genetic odds are in your favor (or where you can overlap your skills in a compelling way).

Deliberate practice is necessary for success, but it is not sufficient. The people at the top of any competitive field are both well-suited and well-trained. To maximize your potential, you need to not only engage in consistent and purposeful practice, but also to align your ambitions with your natural abilities.

Regardless of where we choose to apply ourselves, deliberate practice can help us maximize our potential—no matter what cards we were dealt. That is the magic of deliberate practice. It turns potential into reality.

I first heard this story from Darin Van Tassell at Georgia Southern University, who either coached with Joe DiMaggio or knew someone who did. I can’t vouch for the authenticity of the story beyond that.

During my research I discovered a variety of organizations that test professional athletes. A physician named Bill Harrison runs one of them. Harrison began testing athletes in the 1970s and claims that out of the thousands of baseball players he tested, Barry Bonds scored higher on visual tests than anyone else. Interestingly, these tests were conducted back in 1986, long before Bonds became the all-time leader in home runs and suffered his notorious scandal involving performance-enhancing drugs.

Sunday, 22 January 2017

There are times when an athlete can be in the process of having a terrible performance.How you respond to the failure is incredibly important.Keeping in mind that it is often the losses we learn more from than the wins.The wins are feel great and we leave the competition feeling like something was accomplished.The mistakes that were made during those games are usually glossed over but when a loss happens, especially a really bad performance, it can be daunting to deal with.It can strike a chord and you have to find a way to get through it.

Here are some tactics on how to bounce back from a tough loss or a terrible performance.

During the Game:

Get Other People Involved - If you are having a poor offensive performance or feel a bit out of rhythm sometimes it is a matter of looking to create for other people. Try to draw two defensive players to get someone else open. Set a really great screen or make a hustle play. You could also make an extra pass to see if someone else can get open for a better shot. If your shot isn’t falling from outside try to get something going closer to the basket or the foul line. Doing for others can get you out of the state you might be in.

Take Pride on Defence - If the offensive side of your game isn’t working at all a good strategy is to try to get going on defence first. Coaches often say “good defence creates easy offence”. When your defence is tough it can lead to getting steals or playing in good position can force your opponent to make poor decisions leading to turnovers. When poor decisions are made it can result in easier shots like layups or advantage situations for you and your team.

Stay Engaged on the Bench - This is perhaps the toughest part is when you are on the bench it is easy to start thinking about the mistakes and get into your own head. The danger in doing this is that now you aren’t in the moment. You can psych yourself out or won’t be ready if you are asked to go back in the game again. Staying ready is done best when you mentally stay prepared by cheering on your teammates and getting into the game even when you aren't on the court. Making it more about them and less about you can be incredibly powerful as it takes the pressure off of you and helps your shoulder the load with the team.

Use your Mental Locker - A mental locker is where you can put issues you are dealing with so when you step on the court those things aren’t top of mind instead they are put away. This way you have the capacity to deal with them better at a later time.This practice helps to play in the moment and allows you to be present.Your thoughts will be there when you are finished with the game.So when something happens in the game don’t take the time to think about it in that moment instead promise yourself you will go through it later.

After the Game:

Remember the Positive Things Too - When things go really bad it is easy to recall all of the horrible things that you or the team did. It is still important to keep perspective and see the positives and remember that not everything is lost. The hardest things to overcome are the things that hurt the most. Getting to a point where you see the weaknesses and work on rectifying them is a really powerful position. Take time to recall one or two things that you did in the game that were positive to help keep that perspective. When you see that one of your teammates had a tough game give them some words of encouragement and let them know you are there for them.

Take Time to Clear out your Mental Locker - While in the heat of the moment and a mistake is made or something comes up in your mind it is probably a bad idea to start trying to analyze it it then. Putting it in your mental locker can give you more time to either analyze it later or completely shelf it for good. There are many times when you see a player during the game make a mistake and immediately their expression changes. This is when you know they are no longer in the moment and they sometimes make another mistake just like the first one. Just working on being in the moment can help to erase compounding mistakes. Putting the first mistake in the Mental Locker allows you to either have a short memory and forget about it or think it through further at another time.

Choose a Couple of Lessons - It can be tempting to think everything went wrong. Sometimes identifying one or two issues that can be remedied can help with the process of getting back into the right mentality. Attacking those issues and not hiding from them can be incredibly helpful in getting to the right state of mind again. Adversity is something that all great players and teams go through. The way you choose to respond to it is the most important thing. Do you allow it to rip you apart or do you use it to bond you together? The way you choose to respond is really the difference maker! Trying to fix everything is a mistake because other things can come into alignment naturally once you are on the right track again. Choosing just a couple of lessons can really help to focus instead of getting bogged down in too many negative feelings. Finding the lesson can really make the loss worthwhile because it is the tough situations that seem to carry the best solutions. Remember poor performances aren't the end of the world. As John Wooden once said "Failure is not fatal but failure to change might be."

Sunday, 15 January 2017

Mark Verstegen is a world renowned performance coach and has worked with many elite athletes in his career.In his book Core Performance Essentials he goes through some very important rules around eating as an athlete.It is no secret idea that athletes need to fuel differently than people who don’t use their bodies for high level performance. Just like using diesel fuel in a sports car would ruin the engine in a similar way eating poorly puts the athlete at a disadvantage. Lack of nutritional content and the wrong type of fuel can cause damage. Athletes can optimize performance by learning to fuel themselves in a more effective way.

If an athlete eats poorly their engine won’t necessarily seize and be destroyed so many athletes use the idea of just powering through their poor food choices by thinking they can conquer it mentaly. Yes that can be done however, consider energy is being utilized for that as well so it seems a bit of a waste. I also think people believe they are much more proficient at powering through than they actually are. If all of your energy is put into alignment that focus can be put on greatness. Fuel is a huge part of being an athlete and by managing these types of things you can really help to optimize your level of greatness. Treating food as fuel instead of a friend is a way to separate hunger from loneliness or eating something just because it tastes good. Unleashing the power of food can really be a huge difference maker when it comes to performance.

More important than fuelling properly is fuelling properly for you! What this mean is paying attention to what works best for your system. Things to consider are meal times, processing time of the meal after consumption and then also figuring out foods to avoid that don’t feel right. Doing this can really help to put you in the optimal state of performance. For example years ago I gave up milk because I was noticing it was having a negative impact on my skin but also I noticed that when I drank it my stomach didn’t feel good. I started to use unsweetened almond milk instead and my body processed it much better. No one would know that except me. Also, when I work out too hard I have to wait about 20 minutes in order to be able to eat otherwise I feel nauseous.

Here are some strategies as recommended by Mark Verstegen

Strategy #1 - Eat Often

Socially we are taught to eat three square meals a day. We are to avoid between-meal snacks as well not eating after dinner. The problem with that is that we eat larger amounts and can sometimes feel bloated from that level of consumption all at once. A way to look at eating frequently is like constantly throwing wood on the fire to keep the flame consistent over a period of time. Each time you eat your digestion is cranked up and metabolism burns the calories. Big meals means the flame is smouldering and dying whereas a hot fire is keeps burning consistently.

If you don’t eat consistently then the most readily available thing for the body to burn is muscle which is obviously counter productive. Most people might think it would be their fat that would be burned but the human body is very resistant to burning fat for self preservation purposes. Eating the right food in the proper portions at the correct times more frequently helps to encourage the fat reserves to be tapped into. This is why eating pre-workout and post-workout is incredibly important to ensure your body is ready to go and then recovering well after exercising.

Strategy #2 - Eating Schedules

People have different schedules and times they chose to workout. Spreading out 5 to 7 meals a day can be challenging and certainly doesn’t happen by accident. Especially because you want to ensure that you are right sizing your meals and not “supersizing” in terms of just eating large amounts many times a day. This means that proper planning is critical to being able to execute this strategy and have the food ready for consumption.

Sunday, 8 January 2017

I am not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions as I find they are very limiting and set many people up for failure. For me it is limiting and I feel a bit boxed in because I like to learn, grow, change and evolve on my own timeline (not just the calendar's timeline). Resolution often bring with them high hopes to accomplish but the lack the substance and the self interest to really make a solid impact long term. Often people start out with good intentions that fall flat and ending up leaving weak and unsuccessful feelings. I think it is important to be free to set meaningful goals at any time of the year. The item often forgotten that allows goals to be achieved is the habits that are formed around carrying them out. Afterall, those who form habits that support their goals are far more likely to achieve them.

Public speaker and student of successful people from all walks of life, James Clear (www.jamesclear.com), wrote about his process in a blog where he outlines that every year he likes to answer three questions for himself:

What went well this year?

What didn’t go well this year?

What am I working towards?

He shares his insights with people as a way to show that the process of being successful takes time. He also posts the information on his website to show what he has uncovered in past years as well. I always find his insights quite interesting. It is comforting to see a successful person like him having so much trouble following through with important things as well. It helps me to see that my expectations of myself aren't as solitary as they sometimes seem.

Mano Watsa who is the Founder and President of PGC, Point Guard College, once shared his process which is quite elaborate but incredibly inspiring. There are 2 parts to his in that he looks at the year in review and then he looks at the year ahead. He also includes an area to help jumpstart his way into the New Year. This is what his outline looks like:

Year in Review

1- Accomplishments

2 - Highlights

3 - Top Books I read and Top Movies/Documentaries I watched

4 - Special People I connected with

5 - Ways I Blessed Others

6 - Learnings

7 - Desired Outcomes Achieved

Year Ahead

1 - Systems & Habits to Develop

2 - Goals

3 - People to Spend Tie With

4 - Areas I want to Grow

Next Steps

1 to 5 small things to get you moving in the right direction

I know that both these ways can be quite elaborate in terms of taking the time to write it down, review and plan. If you really want to have a big impact sometimes these can be used as road maps to help get you there.

I recently came across a Matthew McConaughey video that really seemed to make this concept a bit more simple. It was in 2014 when he was accepting a best actor award for Dallas Buyers Club he mentioned that in his life he finds he needs 3 things:

I think when we go into a New Year a lot of the focus is often on losing weight, making more money or things of that nature. After getting through this time of year I am often reminded that the true emphasis on living isn’t about material things at all. It is about making lasting and meaningful impacts on people, creating amazing memories and reflecting back on them. These tools help to really keep me from not being stagnant and to keep striving in my own ways. I hope this helps you to find a way to strive in your own way as well.

Monday, 2 January 2017

This article is from the website Change the Game Project. I was very touched by it so I thought I would share it with all of you this week. Happy New Year! I hope this concept puts you in the right mindset to start off 2017! Here is the link as a reference in case you want to check out any of their other articles. http://changingthegameproject.com/the-rule-of-one/

The Rule of One

I remember it like it was yesterday. I was a junior in high school, and sat three rows back, middle row of my English literature class at St Anthony’s High School in New York. Brother Jeff, a Franciscan brother who was a pleasant combination strict and jovial, was my teacher. He was handing back some essays we had written.

I eagerly awaited mine, as I could write a pretty good paper with minimal effort. When Brother Jeff handed my back my paper, I thought it was a mistake. There was a big, red “F” on the top.

“Brother Jeff, there is no way this paper was an ‘F,’” I protested. “I know it’s better than that.”

He put his hands on my desk and looked me in the eye. “I didn’t give you an ‘F’ based upon what everyone else can do. I gave you an ‘F” based on what you are capable of doing, and your paper is garbage (actually his language was a bit more colorful.)”

“No way,” I continued. “That paper is fine.”

“No John, it’s not. It’s far from your best effort, and quite frankly it offends me that you have the nerve to turn that in. You are a damn good writer, and you should be ashamed to turn something like that in. In fact, I don’t want you in my class anymore until you decide to use the gift you have been given and put a little more effort into your work.”

With that Brother Jeff grabbed my books off the desk, walked over to the window, and tossed them three stories to the ground below. “Now get out,” he said as he pointed to the door, “and don’t hand in junk like that ever again.”

As I walked out with a huff, I was embarrassed. I was angry. I was beside myself.

And I have also dedicated both my books, my masters thesis, and will dedicate any forthcoming books I write to Brother Jeffrey Michael Pederson. Why? Because that day, in 11th grade english class, he changed my life.

He made me believe that I was a good writer when I put forth the proper effort. He made me see something in myself that I had never seen before, and may not have seen on my own. Every one of the hundreds of thousands of words I have published since I started this blog and wrote my first book in 2012 I can trace back to Brother Jeff.

That is “The Rule of One.”

One person. One comment. One time. It can change a life forever.

“The Rule of One” is the phrase my great friend Dr Jerry Lynch calls such powerful, life changing teaching in his books Coaching with Heart and The Way of the Champion (both mandatory reading for coaches if you ask me). Jerry and I recently conducted an all day workshop for USA Swimming together, and we discussed the rule as it pertains to leadership and building the right type of environment for athletes to succeed. Jerry shared a very similar story to mine about a college professor who convinced him to be a writer. He has now written twelve books that have been published in over 20 languages.

“He made me believe I could write,” said Jerry, as he turned to the crowd. “That is the power of ‘The Rule of One.’”

Whenever we ask any group of coaches “can you point to a ‘Rule of One’ moment in your life?” everyone raises their hand. Every single person. Perhaps it was not a coach, but it may have been a teacher, an uncle, or an older athlete who believed in them. Everyone is affected by “The Rule of One.”

When amateur golfer Buddy Marucci qualified for his first Masters, he was paired with golf legend Arnold Palmer. Marucci was incredibly nervous, until Palmer walked up to him on the first tee and said “Today is going to be one of the most memorable days of your life. If there is anything I can do to make it better, please let me know.”

Mia Hamm wanted to be the best soccer player in the world, and worked relentlessly to achieve that. Her coach at the University of North Carolina, Anson Dorrance, once observed her training alone at 6am on his way to work, and sent her the following note: “The vision of a champion is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion, when no one else is watching.”

These are examples of “The Rule of One,” a comment that can stick with a person for the rest of his or her life. Everyday is an opportunity to empower and inspire an athlete. Our words can be affirming and life changing, or demeaning and depressing. We don’t get to pick and choose which ones stick, and which ones our kids forget, so we better be careful.

Today, I want to call upon all the adults who are involved in youth sports to remember that the Rule of One applies to you. Think about a coach or teacher whose words or actions changed your life. Maybe even send them a note of thanks. But more importantly, make a commitment to make that type of difference for another. Whether you are a coach, an administrator, or a parent, every time you step on the field is an opportunity to find that one person, and make that one, life changing comment.

Here are a few tips on how to make sure the Rule of One can positively affect your athletes:

Be Aware. Your influence is never neutral, and we must be aware of the impact of our words and actions. Don’t ever think that you do not make in impact, especially once you are in a position of authority such as a coach or parent. There are certain times that are highly emotional (end of games, after a mistake, after a great play) where your words can be a bit stickier.

Timing is everything! Catching an athlete doing something great after overcoming adversity, or a word of encouragement after a disappointing outcome can be very powerful. Similarly, the opposite can be true. A harsh word after a major disappointment rarely helps, nor does strong criticism right after a player just did something very well. People tend to remember the things they learn right after they have a strong emotional response to an event, so understand that there are certain times to teach, certain times to inspire, and certain times to leave it unsaid for now.

Be Intentional: Whenever I substitute a player, I am at midfield to shake every athlete’s hand as he or she steps off, regardless of how they played. If they are doing well, it’s a smile, a high five and a “well done.” If they are struggling or upset, it’s a smile, a high five, and a “keep your head up, get a drink, I have an idea that might help and I will be right over.” This takes a bit more effort than many coaches care to exert, but the difference it can make in the life of your athlete can be huge. Everyone gets acknowledged. Everyone gets a reminder to focus on the process. Every time.

Be Transformational: Coach the person, not the sport. Some kids need a hug, and some need a metaphorical kick in the rear. Some need a quiet word, and others will respond to a shout across the field or court. It is up to you to realize what every individual needs, and do your best to deliver it to him. If you shout at the athlete who responds best to the quiet word on the side, you will not inspire. If you fail to show caring and love to the the athlete who never gets them at home, you will not connect. Your delivery must match the needs of the recipient.

A transformational coach values the things that are hard to measure. It’s easy to recognize athletes when you count points, goals, saves, and rebounds, but that is insufficient. Athletes need you to validate the things that are much harder to measure, but mean far more. Was she fearless? Was he a hustler? Did she bring positive energy? Did he improve in the area you worked so hard on in practice? A life changing “Rule of One” comment will rarely be about something easily measured such as “nice goal out there.” But when you say to an athlete “I’m so proud of you, look at what you have become when you play with such energy and courage” you can change a life.

Next time you step on the field, remember that “The Rule of One” applies to you. Whether you are an adult working with a child or an upperclassman/team captain speaking to a teammate who looks up to you, you wield tremendous power.

About Me

My goal in life is to Inspire Change! Whether through coaching boys basketball, researching different areas of interest or speaking out about adopting a clean eating & living lifestyle. These thoughts are for you!